Washington County ArArchives Biographies.....Hamilton, Andrew Claude 
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Robert Sanchez http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00027.html#0006574 June 1, 2009, 9:24 pm

Author: S. J. Clarke (Publisher, 1922)

ANDREW CLAUDE HAMILTON.
    Some men live for gain and judge the world by the inch rule of self; others
gain a world vision and form their, opinions by the understanding obtained
through association with the master minds of all ages. Principle and not
personal prejudice is their guide, and dignity in thought and honor in action
mark their pathways. Such was the career of A. C. Hamilton, a man whose business
success was not inconsiderable but who regarded the attainment of wealth only as
a means to an end. Life with him found its expression in his love of travel,
love of literature and most of all in his love of family.

    Mr. Hamilton was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1852, and traveled life's
journey to 1913, when he was called to the home beyond. He came of an old and
distinguished family and his lines of life were cast in harmony with the
ancestral history. He pursued his education in the schools of Belfast, Ireland,
and it was intended that he should enter the ministry, but changing his plans,
he came to the United States at the age of nineteen years and entered the
business world. His first position was in the establishment of A. T. Stewart,
then "The Merchant Prince of America," in New York city. The great west appealed
to his love for a bigger life, and going to Indiana he engaged in business for a
time in Muncie. From there he went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was prominent
in business and social life. But love of travel took him into the empire of
Texas. In Waco he opened a wholesale grocery business, which he later removed to
Galveston.

    One summer he chanced to visit Fayetteville, Arkansas, and was at once
impressed with the beauty of the town, the natural scenery and the excellent
climate and in 1896 removed his family to this city. Here he originated the
dried fruit packing industry in Arkansas and made shipments on an extensive
scale. He built up a great business, shipping to practically every state in the
Union. Later he established a cold storage, which also proved a most profitable
enterprise, contributing to the substantial growth and development of the city
as well as to the advancement of his individual fortunes. He rejoiced in his
success merely by reason of what it enabled him to do for his family and his
fellowmen. He found his happiness in visiting the beauty spots of the world, in
spending hours and days and months in poring over the writings of the best
authors of all ages and most of all in bringing his family into touch with those
interests which develop character and bring cultural worth into life.

    In 1880 Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kate Downs, who was
born in Waco, Texas, in 1858, a daughter of William P. and Martha Sandal (Fort)
Downs, both of whom were natives of northern Alabama and both representatives of
distinguished old southern families. The grandfather of Mrs. Hamilton in the
paternal line was Major W. W. Downs, a native of North Carolina, who at an early
day removed to Alabama and in 1854 became a resident of Waco, Texas, where he
purchased several thousand acres of land and owned many slaves. He built the
first two-story residence in Waco and was largely connected with the development
and improvement of that section of the country. He served as a chaplain in the
Civil war and all of his sons were in the Confederate army. Prospering as the
years went by, he left a vast estate. The grandfather of Mrs. Hamilton in the
maternal line was David G. Fort, a native of North Carolina and a descendant of
Frederick Fort of Revolutionary fame.

    William P. Downs, father of Mrs. Hamilton, was a graduate of the Lagrange
(Va.) College, while his wife was a graduate of the college at Athens, Alabama.
In 1S54 they removed to Texas and he soon won place as one of the eminent
educators of the state, becoming the second president of the Waco Female
College, which position he filled to the time of his early death at the age of
thirty-two years. To him and his wife, were born four children, three of whom
are living: F. F., who is the president of the First National Bank at Temple,
Texas; P. L., vice president of the bank; and Mrs. Hamilton. Mr. Downs was an
exemplary follower of the Masonic fraternity and he gave his political
allegiance to the democratic party.

    The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton was blessed with six children, five of
whom are living. Claude, who died in infancy in Ireland, was interred in the
family hurying ground in White Church cemetery, where the Hamiltons had interred
their dead for three hundred years. The others are: Mary Fort, the eldest, who
is the wife of Roswell Sears Lander, a Boston man who belongs to one of the
prominent old New England families and who is now engaged in the manufacturing
business in Little Rock; Eileen Kathleen, who is the wife of Dr. Neal Carothers
of New York. He was the first young man in Arkansas to win the Cecil Rhodes
scholarship, after which he received a degree at Princeton and later was a
teacher in that university; William J., the eldest son, who has charge of his
father's business, was president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and was
chairman of the local board of the Council of Defense during the World war;
Andrew C, a civil engineer, who was graduated from the University of Arkansas
and is now a well known contractor in road building in Arkansas. A. C. Hamilton,
Jr., married Hallie De Vaney and they have a daughter, Katherine Howard; and
Scott Downs, the youngest, who was a prominent student of the University of
Arkansas and entered the service in the World war, going overseas with the rank
of lieutenant. He now travels for the A. C. Hamilton Company and has charge of
the orchards. The family circle has twice been broken by the hand of death—first
when Claude departed this life while the family was visiting in Ireland and
again in 1913, when Mr. Hamilton was called to the home beyond. He never took an
active part in politics but voted with the democratic party. He was chosen to
represent Texas as commissioner to the World Exposition in Paris, France, in
1889, and, accompanied by his family, went to that country. Air. Hamilton's
position as Commissioner to the Exposition brought to them many courtesies and
opportunities which were not enjoyed by the ordinary tourist. They spent two
years in Europe, principally in Ireland. In 1909 Mr. Hamilton and his daughter,
Miss Eileen Kathleen, visited the city of Mexico and while there they were
presented to President Diaz. One of Mr. Hamilton's strongest ambitions was to
give his children every possible educational advantage and every opportunity for
travel. Again and again, accompanied by some member of his family, Mr. Hamilton
took trips in this and foreign lands, making thirteen voyages to Europe. His
business attained to great proportions, and when he wished for rest or
recreation he would go to some of the best libraries of America, and selecting
the best books of great authors, would find his relaxation in reading, sometimes
for weeks at a time. His home life was largely ideal and the closest
companionship existed between husband and wife, based upon their mutual
interests, their love for all that is uplifting and their hopes and desires for
their family. Storing his mind throughout life with all that is best in the
broad field of literature, Mr. Hamilton came to he a splendid writer and
excellent public speaker. It was not that he prepared for such things but that
his brain was a storehouse from which he drew at will for arguments, for
narratives, for discussions or illustrations. Association with him meant
expansion and elevation. He was a constant stimulus to the best that was in
others and when he died his life called forth a tribute such as is seldom given
or deserved in this day when in large measure self-interest seems to reign
supreme in the individual and in nations. A friend wrote: "The death of this
remarkable man is a heavy loss to the town where for many years he was a
conspicuous figure in business, social and religious circles. Blessings brighten
as they take their flight. This is especially so when a good man dies. So
devoted was our friend to his daily toil, the management of a great enterprise,
that only his death can teach us how admirable was his patience, his
perseverance, and his self-sacrifice. Made of finer clay, cast in a larger
mould, he lived on a higher plane than the average man. He was resourceful,
believed in the Irish proverb that 'When God closes one door he opens another,'
and so in every place of responsibility he filled the measure. His heart was
sensitive to pain and wrong as the needle of a compass to a disturbing
influence. To say or to do a harsh thing gave him nights of solitude and sorrow.
To him a sordid deed was appalling, and a wound, a crucifixion. He was as true a
gentleman as ever broke bread at the circle of a court. He kept his heart with
diligence because he believed that in the heart are the issues of life. He was
rich in what he was rather than in what he possessed. He believed money valuable
as a means, never as an end, and so he used it for the comfort of his home, the
advancement of his religion and the pleasure of his friends. He had a genius for
work, whether in dealing with the problems of business life or the study of a
great book. He read the best literature both of the present and the past. His
information was varied, extensive and accurate. His memory was phenomenal, and
he had the imagination of a poet. To confine such a mind to the details and the
drudgery of a great business was like hitching a race horse to a plough. To the
minister of the evangel of Christ this lovable man was the most sympathetic and
helpful friend. He had the listening ear and the understanding heart. He knew
the value of an encouraging word and how to speak it in a sincere and modest
way. When he ventured an adverse criticism it was given in a gentle and winsome
spirit that won both gratitude and affection. While we carry with us the heavy
sorrow of his death we are cheered, strengthened and inspired by the lessons of
his life, and the certainty of his reward."


Additional Comments:

Citation:
Centennial History of Arkansas
Volume II
Chicago-Little Rock: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1922


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